Bishop Jinga Mayo Luscious is the Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board. In this interview with SUNDAY ISUWA, the Bishop speaks on the relationship between the Christian Community and the state governor, Umar Jibrilla Bindow. He also speaks on national security, the challenges facing the Pilgrims Board, its achievements and some other issues.You just attended a leadership course on national security. Can you enlighten us more on the programme'The programme was eye-opening and very challenging. I would advise that Nigerians take advantage of this and be part of the second course. The one we just had is the first course and it was wonderful. We had lectures from great minds in the industry. We had the Comptroller-General, Immigration General, and Army Generals in attendance. The Inspector General of police was ably represented and he gave a lecture. We also had professors who gave lectures on security.What are the benefits of this course with regards to the Boko Haram insurgency and foreign criminals that come into the country and cause mayhem'It would help a great deal because by the time you know your responsibilities as a citizen of your country, it would be very beneficial. Terrorism cannot but flourished out without individuals aiding one way or the other. We discussed all of these things as well and we looked at the threats and loses, not just of some properties but of lives. And then, we looked at the future, where will it take us to' We were able to learn ways of how to curb it, how collaboration within the security network of the country can be able to help us. Also, we looked at ways where waste can be cut or reduced in terms of managing these kinds of issues. For example, we talked about the Air force,Navy, the Police, the paramilitaries and other forms of national security, that we could put together and have some form of central command where most of these things can easily be managed. We also proffered solutions that can be very helpful to this country.What impact is this programme expected to have in the lives of the people in the North-east'The North-east was a major focus point and I raised the issue personally about the region. I mentioned that no matter what we do, we cannot say that the fight against Boko Haram is totally concluded, because we have been having a porous border and also the way and manner in which foreigners easily assimilate into the North, especially from Chad and Niger because they also speak the Hausa language. So once they come in, they pretend to be one of us, nobody questions them or does anything. Hence, when they go to a place like Lagos, they become security guards in some of the homes and when they commit crimes, people refer to them as Northerners not knowing that some of these people are foreigners. So, in the North-east, I believe that this programme is of great essence and importance, not because of the foreigners alone, but it is also a way of creating an awareness that yes, he can be your brother, but it is very dangerous when you know that the so called brother cannot be useful to you, your community or the nation at large. So, I believe that this programme is going to be helpful and I am sure that in the next phase, we are going to have a lot of participants from the North-east.Concerning the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board in Adamawa State, can you tell us about the contributions of Governor Bindow towards the preparation of the 2016/2017 pilgrimage'Bindow is an outstanding leader, a man born for this time, a man with a large heart. I can also tell you that in this nation, among governors, he is outstanding. He doesnt make noise, but his works speak for him. He is an achiever and a performer. Concerning the Christian Pilgrims board and the Christian community as a whole, he has given us 110 percent support. I appreciate him.Many people in the North, both the Christians and Muslims are complaining about marginalisation from their state governors. Do we have such happening in Adamawa State'Never. Bindow is de-tribalised and he is also someone who does not look at you in the context of your tribe or religion or anything but rather, if you have anything to give to the society, he gives you a chance to prove it. So, we, as Christians in Adamawa State, under this government, cannot talk about marginalisation, no, never, not now. He is such a person that gives you the chance and opportunity, not minding where you are coming from.Can you tell us about some of the challenges that Christians are facing in relation to the issue of insecurity'Well, both the Christians and Muslims are facing these challenges, and that is a fact. But, we are well aware that concerning the Islamic terrorists, their first target is the Christian, followed by the Muslims, whom they feel are unlike them. So, we face these challenges and we thank God for His intervention but till this moment, Madagali axis is still facing these challenges.We are aware that since you came on board, there has been a lot of innovations in terms of physical structures and the manner in which things are done. Can you tell us about your future plans for the board'When I came in, the first thing that challenged me was the infrastructural level of the environment. The place was not good enough and so I decided that I couldnt be there and leave it the way it was. So, I had to work towards making sure that there is a change and I appreciate the level of support that the governor has given me to call on friends to help me out with some money and we have spent some millions in raising a new administrative block, the wall, and we have also been able to sink a borehole, but we still have some other things which we intend to do within the premises. Now, looking at the future, I ask myself, what if tomorrow we dont have a governor like Bindow' Because some governors will tell us that they are not going to sponsor pilgrims, so what do you do, what happens' So, I began to put some of my plans into effect. I have told him what we are going to do, and we are trusting God that by the time I am done with my tenure, that board will never be the same, the board will be self-sufficient.This is because we receive money only once in a year, only during pilgrimage, apart from that, you have a running cost of N200, 000 which basically, cannot do anything; it cannot power a generator for a long time when there is power shortage, and so forth. So, we are putting in quite a lot. We are going into a lot of ventures, which I would prefer not to mention now, but we are establishing them one after the other. The next executive secretary that will be coming on board will enjoy his stay because he will be a little bit independent when it comes to finance.Governor Bindow has been outstanding in the area of road construction.However the challenge of governance in Nigeria is that most governors who get a second term mandate do not pursue development strides as they did in their first term. Are you confident that Bindow will not turn out to be that way'Sure, I am confident in his government, because he has a track record of helping. Yes, because he is coming from the private sector. He is a man who has affected a lot of lives, even before he became a senator and eventually a governor and in government, he has shown from all intents and purposes that he is people oriented. He has a good plan, he is a good man and he is actually not doing badly. Also, I must tell you one thing, that at a time I knew that the state did not have money, he mortgaged his own personal property in other to get money to make sure that he is able to work for the state. He is an example to be copied. He recently declared state of emergency on education. I believe that the next phase of his performance is on education and it is going to be wonderful and excellent.Concerning the last pilgrimage, we learnt that some people had some issues with the board. What actually happened'Well, the government has done marvellously well, they were able to sponsor 1,500 pilgrims and we really appreciate them in everything because, even with the limited resources, the government was able to give us such a massive support. Now, when the second batch was to leave, the local government still withheld about 48m Naira and some little bits of politics, I can say, came into it because it ought not to. Yes, there were about 57 of their sponsored pilgrims who were not airlifted and actually that happened simply because somebody decided to be wicked in the sense that, this is a young man who has been on this job for the past five years before I came in and I have never interfered with his work, but this time around, he decided to do otherwise because, in the airlifting, first, private sponsors that is the self sponsors, secondly, the local governments before we talk about state. But this time around, he jettisoned all of that and all kinds of people were just added to the number and then we woke up just to realise that some peoples names were not even sent for visa and then local governments were completely displaced, it was really a lot of trouble.
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